United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1998-01-30 monographic deposited born digital 59 p. GA 1.13:NSIAD-98-58 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-58 P0b002ee1803a356c f:ns98058 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-58 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-58 NSIAD-98-58 Military recruiting Military enlistment Military training Attrition rates Personnel management Enlisted personnel Employee incentives Military policies Military cost control DOD Delayed Entry Program Army Basic Training Program Chapter Report NSIAD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the military services' recruiting processes, focusing on the recruiter incentive systems that the military services use to optimize the performance of military recruiters and ensure that only fully qualified applicants are enlisted.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) could enhance the success of its recruiters if the services strengthened key aspects of their systems for selecting and training recruiters; (2) only the Air Force requires personnel experienced in recruiting to interview candidates for recruiting positions and uses selection tests to screen interviewees for recruiting duty; (3) while recruiters from each service receive practical training to improve their ability to recruit and enlist personnel, Marine Corps and Navy training also emphasize the importance of retaining recruits once enlisted and require recruiters to focus on retention as well as recruiting; (4) the services have taken steps to improve their delayed entry programs, such as increasing the amount of contact between recruiters and recruits; (5) although all the services give recruits in the delayed entry programs access to their physical fitness facilities and encourage the recruits to become or stay physically fit, only the Marine Corps conducts regular physical training for recruits who are waiting to go to basic training; (6) although recruits who are physically fit are more likely to complete basic training, only the Marine Corps requires all recruits to take a physical fitness test before reporting to basic training; (7) achieving monthly goals has been the key measure of recruiter performance; (8) only the Marine Corps and the Navy consider retention in measuring and rewarding recruiter performance; (9) specifically, they consider the number of recruits completing basic training when evaluating the success of recruiters; the Army and the Air Force consider primarily the number of recruits enlisted or the number reporting to the basic training; (10) DOD's 1996 survey of service recruiters showed that the number of hours that recruiters work reached its highest point since 1989; (11) despite this effort, less than one-half of the recruiters achieved their goals in 9 or more months of a 12-month period; (12) the recruiters GAO interviewed were concerned about the difficulties they face in meeting monthly goals and the long hours they must devote to their jobs; and (13) establishing quarterly floating goals could ease the burden on recruiters and still provide an incentive to meet recruitment goals. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-58/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-58.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-58/pdf/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-58.pdf GAO/NSIAD-98-58 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-98-58 Chapter Report GAO/NSIAD-98-58; Military Recruiting: DOD Could Improve Its Recruiter Selection and Incentive Systems; Military recruiting Military enlistment Military training Attrition rates Personnel management Enlisted personnel Employee incentives Military policies Military cost control DOD Delayed Entry Program Army Basic Training Program Public Law 103-62